South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of the current year, reporting a net profit of KRW 637 billion ($560.99 million), up from a net profit of KRW 530 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
In the second quarter, POSCO's sales revenues increased by 7.6 percent year on year to KRW 16.08 trillion ($14.16 billion), while its operating profit amounted to KRW 1.25 trillion ($1.10 billion), rising by 27.8 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In the second quarter this year, POSCO produced 9.37 million mt of crude steel, up 6.5 percent year on year, while its finished steel sales increased by 5.8 percent year on year to 8.96 million mt.
POSCO stated that its sales volume will not be affected by the EU provisional safeguard measures since it has already set up strategies to respond to such barriers. However, the company expects its steel sales to be affected negatively if the US imposes a 25 percent tariff on automobile exports from South Korea. The total number of cars exported from South Korea to the US is around 845,000. If the entire export volume is blocked, POSCO’s affected steel sales would in the range of 400,000 mt to 430,000 mt. If the tariff is implemented, the company will divert the volume to China and Southeast Asian countries.